The search party and Esmerelda were unaware that the Death Lion was coming. Esmerelda was too busy helping Elyan. She kissed him to get him to fall asleep, before she laid him down on his back and held her hands over him. Guinevere watched with a curious look on her face while the knights and Lord Agravaine just drooled over the mermaid.
“Fomeeah-dala-comeelah!” Esmerelda announced. A gentle, white and yellow light appeared in her palms. She moved them across Elyan, saying to Gwen, “Your brother should be fine in the next few hours. We just need to let him rest.”
“Thank you,” Gwen said. She smiled at the mermaid, and she smiled back.
Esmerelda's eyes moved over to where Merlin and Arthur used to be. “Now we just have to hope that the boys will make it back soon.”
***
Arthur pulled Merlin back into the boat. The young sorcerer was wiped out. Then again, he was in a boat that was surrounded by the Death Lion's magic. Arthur tried to come up with a plan to get them out of this situation, but Merlin ended up falling asleep. He rested on his back and placed his hand over his tummy.
A little while later, Arthur noticed that the boat was inching toward a foggy area of the lake. They were nearing the mountains. Directly in front of the boat was a cave, as well as on the other side of the lake.
Seeing it, Arthur tensed up. Usually, he would jump with joy at the sight of land, but this was different. This section of the Lake of Peace felt very eerie. Yet, it called him.
The boat did not drift off course. No doubt about it, it was taking the boys to the cave.
Arthur scurried over to Merlin. He shook his shoulder, saying, “Merlin. Merlin, wake up.”
Merlin didn't. He didn't even move.
“Merlin!” Arthur let out a low sigh. He cupped his hands together and picked up a handful of lake water. Arthur splashed it on Merlin's face.
That woke him up. Merlin yelped and quickly asked, “What's happened?”
“It's not a matter of what's happened. It's a matter of where we are,” Arthur told him.
Finally, Merlin saw the area they were in. “What is this place?” he said. His eyes had landed on the cave.
“You feel it, too?” said Arthur. “The cave is calling us.”
The boat drifted into the mouth of the cave. Inside was a small, circular lake, and a ring of torches hung from the cave's walls.
Merlin and Arthur shivered. It was significantly colder inside than outside. They could see their breath.
The boat bumped into the lake bed, right under two torches.
Placing his hand on his sword hilt, Arthur hopped out. He surveyed the area from top to bottom. “Come on, Merlin!” he ordered.
Merlin struggled to get out of the boat. The Death Lion. He could feel it stripping him powerless. It was times like this that he was glad Arthur didn't have magic.
Arthur peeked over his shoulder at him. “Merlin, what's wrong with you?” He put his sword up and clamped his hands under Merlin's armpits. Arthur dragged him out of the boat. He let him go, but Merlin instantly collapsed onto his front.
He wrapped his arms around his body as an attempt to stay warm.
Slightly concerned, Arthur asked, “Are you feeling alright?”
“Ne-Never better,” Merlin stuttered. He forced himself to his knees. “Where are we?”
“It doesn't matter. As long as we're on dry land.” Arthur kneeled to his servant and asked him, “You know what I'm going to ask you next, right?”
“Go collect firewood, even though we are clearly in a cave?” Merlin guessed.
Arthur smiled at him. “Well, it's nice to know that you're still daft and dumb. We should go exploring! Maybe, just maybe we'll be lucky!”
Merlin sarcastically chuckled. “I don't think that's such a great idea. You don't know what's in there.” Although he had to admit, he was just as curious as Arthur. A feeling of some sort told him that they needed to explore the cave. Why? Merlin may never know.
Arthur patted his shoulder. “There we go. Now, I need you to grab a torch and lead the way.”
“Yes, sire.” Merlin rolled his eyes. He rose to his shaky feet and pulled a torch off the wall. He gave Arthur a quick nod.
The king merely gestured for him to take the first step into the creepy tunnel where the torch used to be. At the same time, he adjusted his gloves on his hands. “Come on, Merlin! We don't have all day!”
Merlin shot him an angry look. Nevertheless, he went ahead and took the first step into the tunnel. It reminded him of the dungeons under the palace at Camelot.
The tunnel was dark, cold, and spooky. It was covered in cobwebs.
Merlin led the way, with Arthur following him. He yelped when he walked through a handful of cobwebs.
Arthur passed him. He stopped briefly, bopping him on the head. “Once an idiot, always an idiot,” he said.
Merlin gave him a fake smile. He peered down at the cobwebs wrapped around his body and pulled them off. However, when he looked back up, he could no longer see Arthur. “Arthur?”
No answer.
“Arthur? Now's not the time to be cracking your dumb jokes.” Sure enough, Arthur was no longer in the tunnel. He just vanished into midair.
“Arthur!” Merlin called for the third time. He found a place to put the torch. It was right next to a wall that had some hieroglyphics on it. Curious, Merlin put his hand on them. The second he did, something weird happened very fast. The wall flipped, and it took Merlin with it! “Hey!” he yelled.
The wall tossed Merlin onto a rock slide in a large, dark area of the cave. He landed on his front and started to slide down it. Merlin’s eyes widened. There were times when he thought he would slide right off the slide, but he never did. He just slid, slid, slid deeper and deeper underground. A cauldron of bats flew over his head, and he ducked under them. One bat crashed into his face, so Merlin had to pull it off.
The slide took Merlin straight to a hole in one of the deepest sections of the cave. He fell through it and ended up crashing into a pile of bones. The room he was in was dark, smelly, and full of skeletons. There were only a few torches.
Half of Merlin’s body became stuck between some skeletal arms, ribs, and legs. Clenching his teeth, he tried to free himself, but he couldn’t. Skeletal hands held his arms down. Merlin shivered.
He prepared to use a levitation spell, but before he could, he suddenly heard, “Merlin!”
Arthur. Arthur was also in the room. Sword drawn, he climbed up and over bones to reach his friend. “There you are!”
Just seeing him, Merlin sighed in relief. At least he wasn’t alone. Arthur must have also fallen for the hieroglyphic trap. Merlin cracked a small smile and told him, “For once, I am actually glad to see you, Arthur.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Arthur joked. He stabbed his sword into a pile of skeletal arms and ribs and approached Merlin. “Are you comfortable in there, Merlin?”
“Not really,” Merlin replied. “Let me guess, you also fell for the hieroglyphics?”
Arthur blushed. “Let’s just say I knew there was a trap somewhere in this old place.”
“Sure.” Merlin rolled his eyes.
Arthur pulled a few skeletons away from Merlin and grabbed his arms. He lugged him out, giving his back a quick push.
Merlin slid the rest of the way down the pile of bones.
Arthur followed him, after grabbing his sword, of course.
“Now what?” Merlin asked him.
“We keep moving,” Arthur said with a smile.
“You know this is your fault, right?” Merlin asked him. “You were the one who brought us here in the first place.”
“I regret to say that you’re wrong. It was actually the boat,” Arthur admitted.
“The boat. Sure.” Merlin clearly didn’t believe him.
Arthur ordered him to pick up one of the torches in the room. They were lucky there was a hallway that branched off from the room of bones.
Merlin was again in the lead. He just wanted to get out of here. Arthur was literally having the time of his life. After growing up in a castle, an adventure like this was a huge milestone for him. Then again, Merlin didn’t know how long it would be before the Death Lion’s possession took over his mind again.
The hallway took the boys to a very interesting place—an underground spring. The water was clear, blue, and warm, and a small waterfall rested behind the spring itself. There were also some crystals on the ceiling. It reminded Merlin of the Crystal Cave.
He stared at the spring, calling to Arthur. “Arthur, check this out.”
“What is it?” Arthur asked in an excited voice behind him. It wasn’t long until he joined Merlin at the mysterious spring. “Here we go,” he added, and he pointed at a bright light coming from under the spring’s waterfall. “A way out.”
“Are you sure?” Merlin nervously asked.
“Always the pessimist, aren’t you?” said Arthur. He propped his sword up against a wall.
Merlin nervously watched him as he approached the spring.
Kneeling to it, Arthur ran his hand through the water.
As soon as he did, a sudden voice came from the ceiling of crystals. “You’re here.”
Merlin and Arthur jumped. Arthur wasted no time rushing to his sword and grabbing it. He pulled Merlin behind his arm, asking, “Who’s there?”
“Do not fear us,” said the voice.
Hundreds of bright, blue lights emerged from the crystal ceiling and floated down to the two boys. It turns out they were little people who sported beautiful, white wings behind their backs. However, they were not Sidhe.
A woman floated down and hovered in front of Merlin and Arthur’s faces. She had long, golden hair and blue eyes. She wore a leaf circlet around her forehead and a shimmering white dress.
She gave the boys a quick curtsy, saying, “We are the spirits of the Lake of Peace, the faeries. We live in the crystals of this spring. We have been waiting for you two for a long time.”
Both Merlin and Arthur’s eyes roamed. Faeries surrounded them. There were men, women, and even children. The child faeries were curious about the strangers. They did not fly off and play like a faerie child should.
Merlin and Arthur were not sure if they could trust these beings.
“Are you Sidhe?” Arthur asked them.
“The opposite,” said the woman. “I am Talya, Elder of the faeries. You are King Arthur, aren’t you?”
“How do you know?” said Arthur.
“We know all the good spirits in the world,” Talya explained. Next, she glanced at Merlin. “And you must be Merlin, King Arthur’s manservant.”
“I am,” Merlin said in a suspicious voice. “What do you want from us?”
“The Death Lion is loose in this world. Only two can defeat it, and those two are you,” Talya explained.
“Us?” Arthur wanted to know.
“The Death Lion can only be defeated by magic, but this is a different kind of magic,” continued the faerie Elder. “You two are the only ones who possess such power.”
Merlin shivered. Oh no. If Arthur found out he had magic, then he would kill him.
However, Talya repeated what Kilgharrah told him. “The magic I speak of is not the magic you’re used to. It is no accident that you are here. We have been waiting hundreds of years to give you our gift. Please accept it.” With that, Talya closed her eyes. She clapped her hands together and brought them to her chest.
As did the rest of the faeries.
Merlin and Arthur stood back-to-back to watch the phenomenon.
The faeries flew around their bodies and heads and sprinkled them with bright, blue faerie dust.
The men grabbed the women and started dancing with them. Even the children joined. Talya and her people flew to the spring. Half of the fairies danced over it while the other half danced in front of the waterfall.
“What’s going on?” Merlin whispered to Arthur.
“I don’t know,” Arthur whispered back. He put his sword back on his belt.
While the faeries danced, the spring’s water started to bubble. Talya flew to the waterfall. She sprinkled some fairy dust on it. At her command, the waterfall split apart. Two beautiful swords came floating out of it. They had silver blades and golden handles.
Merlin and Arthur’s eyes widened at the sight of them.
Slowly and carefully, the swords floated in their direction. The faeries swayed around them. Their fairy dust caused the blades to shimmer light blue. The swords’ handles made their way toward Merlin and Arthur’s hands. Together, they reached for them.
The swords gently set themselves down in their palms. The boys wrapped their fingers around them.
A great flash of light emitted from the blades. Merlin and Arthur closed their eyes.
Eventually, the light faded. No longer did the blades glow. Strangely, the swords didn’t weigh much, and they were a perfect fit in Merlin’s and Arthur’s hands. They curiously examined them. The spring stopped bubbling, and the waterfall came back together.
“These are the Faerie Swords,” Talya elucidated. “They are the only weapons that can defeat the Death Lion. They are not forged in dragon’s breath, but by faerie magic. One hit from them, and the Death Lion will instantly vanish. Anyone affected by its magic will be freed. Arthur and Merlin, you are the only ones who can handle these swords. But be wary. You must strike the Death Lion at the right moment for the magic to work.”
“How will we know when the time is right?” Merlin asked.
Talya’s voice was gentle. “You’ll know.”
Arthur lowered his sword to his side. He nodded at Talya, saying, “Thank you.”
She nodded back. “The mermaids will take you to the surface. What you do next is up to you. We wish you luck, young warriors.” With that, Talya flapped her wings. She and her people flew up to the crystal ceiling, where they disappeared inside their homes.
Only moments after they left, two mermaids swam into the spring. They entered from underneath the waterfall, where Arthur had predicted the exit would be. One mermaid had brown hair, and the other one had blonde hair. One by one, they helped Arthur and Merlin into the warm water.
Arthur blushed.
As did Merlin. It was just not every day he swam with a mermaid.
The mermaids performed a spell that allowed them to temporarily breathe underwater. At the same time, they dove, taking the friends with them, and swam under the waterfall.
There was a beautiful, crystal tunnel behind it. Merlin and Arthur could see their reflections. Arthur waved at his, but Merlin shivered. He held the Faerie Sword in his right hand, and he dragged it along behind him.
The mermaids’ tails flapped gracefully in the water. Both of them smiled at the boys.
Arthur, already under their spell, smiled back at his mermaid.
Merlin, though, was thinking about what Talya said. He still couldn’t figure out what this “different” kind of magic was. He had no idea what to expect. Was it time for him and Arthur to face the Death Lion? What would happen if they did right now? There was only one way to find out. He and Arthur had to find the beast before it tracked down Esmerelda and the search party. A battle was just around the corner, but who would emerge victorious? Even Merlin could not predict that.
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